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News
International Middle East Media Center
British
Journalist Detained In Gaza
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Monday February 15, 2010 - 03:48, Palestinian and British
sources confirmed that a British documentary director was arrested by
the Hamas-controlled security forces after he arrived at a Gaza court
to testify in a law suit filed against a Palestinian gunman accused of
collaborating with Israel.
Arab
Parliamentarians In Gaza Monday
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Monday February 15, 2010 - 03:22, The Hamas-dominated
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) reported that 26 Arab
Parliamentarians from different Arab countries will visit on Monday to
express solidarity with the residents of the war-torn and impoverished
coastal region.
Child
Wounded By Israeli Fire In Central Gaza
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Monday February 15, 2010 - 02:56, Palestinian medical
sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Sunday evening that a Palestinian
child suffered moderate wounds after the Israeli army bombarded a
number of homes in Juhr Al Deek area, in central Gaza.
Husseini:
“I Was Framed; Tape Was Dubbed To Blackmail Me”
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Monday February 15, 2010 - 02:43, Dr. Rafiq Husseini, a
top aide to president Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem, stated at a Sunday
evening press conference in Ramallah, that the “sex tape scandal”
against him was dubbed, and added that a “gang framed him to
politically blackmail him due to his sensitive position”.
Gaza
Children Suffer Psychological Issues Due To War
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Monday February 15, 2010 - 01:04, Fadel Abu Hayyin, head
of the Psychological Program at the Palestinian Ministry of Health in
Gaza, stated that more than 100.000 Palestinian children in Gaza are
suffering from different psychological issues resulting from the
Israeli war and aggression on Gaza.
PFLP
Leader Visits Cairo, Holds Talks with Egyptian Leaders
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Sunday February 14, 2010 - 08:37, Visiting Cairo, member
of the Political Bureau of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine (PFLP), Jamil Majdalawi, held a series of meetings with
Egyptian leaders to ease the tension between Egypt and Hamas in Gaza,
and to find a way to prepare the atmosphere for signing a Palestinian
unit deal supervised by Egypt.
MK
Tibi: “We Are The Natives Of This Land”
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Sunday February 14, 2010 - 01:27, Arab member of Knesset,
Ahmad Tibi, slammed the statements of Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister,
Danny Ayalon, who called for swapping areas inhibited by the Arab
population in Israel with settlements. Tibi stated that the Arabs are
the natives of the country and are not immigrants.
Gaza
Power Plant To Cease Functioning Due to Israel’s Siege
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Sunday February 14, 2010 - 00:51, The Energy Authority in
the Gaza Strip reported Saturday that Gaza’s sole power plant will case
functioning in a matter of hours due to the ongoing Israeli blockade,
preventing basic supplies including fuel needed to run the generators,
from entering Gaza.
Medical
Aid Convoy Makes It Into Gaza
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Saturday February 13, 2010 - 23:22, The Arab Physicians
Union’s Committee of Relief and Emergency in Egypt stated Saturday that
a convoy filled with medical aid, estimated by 2.5 Million USD, made it
into the besieged Gaza Strip.
Clinton:
“Blair and Mitchell To Intensify Efforts To Resume Middle East Talks”
IMEMC
14 Feb 2010 - Saturday February 13, 2010 - 01:12, U.S. Secretary-of
State, Hilary Clinton, stated Friday that U.S. Middle East Peace Envoy,
George Mitchell, and Middle East Envoy, Tony Blair, will intensify
their efforts to ensure the resumption of the stalled peace talks
between Israel and the Palestinians.
Old
City stores in Jerusalem threatened with demolition
2/14/2010
- Jerusalem - Ma'an - Several Palestinian shops inside Jerusalem's Old
City in Damascus Gate face the threat of demolition after the Israeli
Jerusalem Municipality inspectors handed down notices to owners and
tenants on Wednesday. The notices were given to Muhammad Abu Ad-Dab'at,
owner of several shopes, and to tenants Mu'tasim Abu Rmeila, Samir
Salayma, and Najati Ja'bari. All were given three days to evacuate the
shops. According to the owner's son, Wael, Israeli municipality
store-inspectors do not have the jurisdiction to hand down demolition
notices, which is usually executed by license and building inspectors.
He added that neither he nor his father or tenants received eviction
orders from the Israeli High Court, in accordance with recent Israeli
policy. "We will try to stop the demolition by any means. We are ready
to appoint engineers to survey the area in order to get license for the
shops," he added.
Al-Ghawis
protest tent removed in Sheikh Jarrah
2/14/2010
- Jerusalem - Ma'an - Israeli police took down the protest tent erected
by the Al-Ghawi family in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied
East Jerusalem, following their eviction from their home a year ago on
Sunday. The Al-Ghawi tent was dismantled shortly after the detention of
Fatima Diab, 45, a resident of Sheikh Jarrah, for allegedly pouring
water over far-right Israeli Member of Knesset Micheal Bin Ari, after
he visited the area with pro-settler activists recently. According to
sources, an Israeli court is reviewing a request put forward by police
to extend Diab's detention. [end]
British
documentary filmmaker arrested in Gaza
2/14/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Security forces in the Gaza Strip arrested a British
filmmaker on Sunday as he arrived to testify at the trial of a
Palestinian fighter accused of collaborating with Israel. Documentary
filmmaker Paul Martin was detained shortly after he arrived in the
coastal enclave to speak on behalf of the unidentified defendant, a
journalist who was present at the courthouse in Gaza City told Ma'an.
"This person [the Palestinian] was accused by the government of being a
collaborator with the Israeli side. Our colleague [Martin] came as a
witness to testify in favor of this guy," the journalist said. Martin
arrived in Gaza with evidence proving the accused man had fought
against the Israeli military, the journalist added. "Suddenly, the
court announced that the reporter said something that is against the
law, and it jailed him for 15 days for investigation," according to the
journalist, who said Martin had interviewed the accused man during
Israel's assault on Gaza, which began in late December 2008.
De
facto gov’t: 4 fishermen detained by Israeli navy off Gaza coast
2/14/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli naval forces detained four Gazan fishermen off
the Sudaniyya coast of northern Gaza, according to Nixar Ayyash, head f
the Union of Fishermen in Gaza. Sources within the de facto government
identified those detained as Awad Ramadan Sultan, Fadl Jamal Sultan,
Sharif Muhammad Sultan, and Samih Rajab Sultan. The de facto Ministry
of Interior called for the fishermen's immediate release urged
international human rights groups to protect Gaza's fishermen. An
Israeli military spokesman said the following: "Earlier today two
Palestinian fishing boats crossed into an area not permitted for
Palestinian sea vessels. An IDF naval force called on the crew to halt.
When the latter failed to comply the boats were lead to the Ashdod port
where the crews were taken for security questioning. " . . . .
Egyptian
security deny arresting Gazan fishermen
2/14/2010
- Al-A'rish- Ma'an - Egyptian authorities denied arresting four Gazan
fishermen off the southern coast of Rafah on Friday, senior Egyptian
security sources told Ma'an on Sunday. "The territorial water between
Egypt and Gaza did not witness any Palestinian violations [prompting an
arrest] over that period of time," the sources said. "Egyptian coast
guards deal with Palestinian in a humane way; if they cross into
Egyptian territorial water, they are turned away without arrest because
of the inhumane circumstances Palestinian fishermen are living under.
"Sources added that any arrests would be announced through the legal
channels within the Egyptian security services. [end]
Egyptian
authorities raid 6 tunnels
2/14/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities raided six tunnels on the
Gaza-Egypt border and confiscated goods intended for smuggling,
security sources told Ma'an on Sunday. Security services stormed the
tunnels 120 meters from the Rafah border crossing after receving a
tip-off that increased attempts to transfer goods into the Strip were
reported near the Salah Ad-Din terminal, particularly in residential
areas near the subterranean metal wall, the sources said. Spare parts
for computers were confiscated during the operation, the sources added.
Fifteen tunnels have been stormed and shut down near the Salah Ad-Din
terminal near the metal wall's construction site, as contractors face
problems in installing the required metal bars due to rocky terrain,
the sources said. Meanwhile, two separate attempts to enter Israel
through the barbed wire border between Israel and Egypt by African
migrants was apprehended, the sources concluded.
Locals:
Combatants in Gaza survive Israeli artillery shelling
2/14/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - A group of Palestinian combatants survived Israeli
shelling in the Zeyton neighborhood of Gaza City overnight, locals
said. Witnesses and residents said Israeli forces stationed near the
border fired artillery shells toward a group of fighters near a car
market in the Zeyton neighborhood. No injuries were reported. An
Israeli military spokesman said the army was not familiar with any
military activity in the area. [end]
Abbas
dimisses Rafiq Husseini, appoints investigation committee
2/15/2010
- Ma`an HQ in Bethlehem on 15 December 2009 [MaanImages/Luay
Sababa]Bethlehem - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Rafiq
Husseini, his chief of staff, on Sunday following the leak of a
videotape that apparently shows Husseini propositioning a job applicant
for sex in Ramallah. Abbas said he has formed an investigation
committee headed by the Fatah Central Committee's secretary-general,
Abu Maher Ghneim, and including committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad and the
head of the Palestinian high court, Rafiq An-Natsheh. The committee
will investigate allegations of corruption put forth in footage and
documents provided to an Israeli news network by Fahmi Shabana, the
former head of the PA's anti-corruption department. Shabana said he
initiated the sting when the applicant informed PA intelligence of
Husseini's alleged misuse of his seniority in the US-backed government.
Ex-Abbas
aide Husseini: I was framed
2/15/2010
- Ramallah - Ma'an - Rafiq Al-Husseini, the former chief of staff to
President Mahmoud Abbas, said Sunday he is innocent of allegations
broadcast on Israeli TV days earlier. Flanked by relatives, Al-Husseini
told reporters that a videotape apparently showing him propositioning a
job applicant for sex was a fabrication. He refused to answer
questions. In brief remarks, Al-Husseini read aloud a statement
alleging that conspirators, who he did not name, dubbed his voice on
the videotape for the purposes of blackmail, both political and
financial. He described the videotape as manipulated, noted it was more
than a year and a half old, and insisted he informed Abbas at the time.
Nevertheless, Al-Husseini said he would cede power as instructed and
cooperate with the PA's commission of inquiry, which will be headed by
Fatah Central Committee secretary-general Abu Maher Ghneim.
13
Palestinian factions to meet in Gaza
2/14/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Intensive contacts have been made with Egyptian
officials to ensure that all Palestinian factions' comments on the
reconciliation document are taken into account, said Yasser Al-Wadiyya,
representing independent Palestinian dignitaries, on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, sources told Ma'an that, following the visits of Fatah
Central Committee member Nabil Sha'ath and secretary-general of the
Palestinian Peoples' Party, Bassam As-Salihi to Gaza, a general meeting
will be held in the Strip on Sunday including all 13 Palestinian
factions which participated in the Cairo talks on ending
inter-Palestinian rivalry. Signing the Egyptian document should be
undertaken immediately, Al-Wadiyya said, making it the top priority of
the Arab League Summit scheduled to be held in Libya in March. He
further called for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, bringing an
end to the siege,. . .
Tightened
security enforced on checkpoints in key West Bank cities
2/14/2010
- Nablus - Ma'an - Israeli forces imposed heightened security measures
on the military checkpoints on the main road between Nablus and
Ramallah in the West Bank on Sunday, while the container checkpoint in
Bethlehem saw similar restrictions. Locals told Ma'an that hundreds of
cars were held up at the Huwwara and Za'tara checkpoints south of
Nablus as well as at the Atara checkpoint north of Ramallah. An Israeli
military spokesman said the army was unfamiliar with any tightened
security measures at the Huwwara checkpoint and said no special alert
had been issued there. In Bethlehem, Palestinians travelling on the
container checkpoint said that hundreds of vehicles were unable to
transit in both directions on the road, with heightened searches on
cars and ID cars being enforced by Israeli soldiers manning the
checkpoint. At the beginning of February, Israeli armed forces closed
the Bethlehem-area container road checkpoint for two days.
One
Gaza crossing partially open for limited export, fuel transfers
2/14/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an -Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom crossing
into southern Gaza to allow the transfer of humanitarian aid and
commercial goods, as well as the limited export of Gaza flowers on
Sunday, border crossings official Raed Fattouh said. Between 57 and 67
truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial goods will be delivered
to the besieged coastal strip via Kerem Shalom, Fattouh said. The same
crossing point will see the export of two truckloads of cut carnations
and the vital transfer of limited quantities of domestic gas and
industrial fuel. The Gaza Energy Authority reported on Saturday that
the sole power plant in the Strip would shut down operations in the
evening, as fuel reserves were depleted as a result of insufficient
fuel transfers. Gaza's northern crossing point, Karni, will remain
closed, Fattouh concluded. . . . .
Israel:
3 armed Palestinians detained near Nablus
2/14/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - Three Palestinians were detained in the northern
West Bank on Sunday, an Israeli military spokesman said. He said the
detainees were found with three pipe bombs and a seven-inch knife at a
military checkpoint east of Nablus. On Friday, a Palestinian man died
en route to a Jerusalem hospital after he was shot by Israeli forces in
Hebron. The army said the Palestinian had tried to stab a soldier in
Hebron's Old City. On Wednesday, an Israeli soldier died after he was
stabbed near Nablus. The army arrested a Palestinian suspected of
involvement in the attack, for which Fatah's military wing claimed
responsibility. [end]
Two
US lawmakers visit Gaza Strip
2/14/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Two members of the US House of Representatives arrived
in the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The de facto
crossings authority reported that the Democrats entered via Rafah and
were received by a UN delegation. One of the two lawmakers, Brian Baird
of Washington, said it was his third visit to the besieged coastal
enclave. It was not immediately clear who was accompanying Baird.
According to the crossings authority, in a statement, the visit was
coordinated with the UN, and will include field visits to schools,
hospitals, and areas destroyed in the most recent conflict that began
in late 2008 "to learn firsthand about the suffering in Gaza. "[end]
PRC
says movement excluded from factional talks
2/14/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - The Palestinian Resistance Committees (PRC) said it
was excluded from the meeting of 13 Palestinian factions in Gaza on
Sunday to discuss the Egyptian reconciliation document. The PRC
expressed shock at media reports saying that all active factions were
invited to talks when the movement was not asked to attend, a statement
read. While satisfied with goals of the meeting, the PRC said that no
faction has the right to define a movement as "active" or not. The
movement's statement added that when the future of Palestinians is
discussed, the PRC should be asked to join in talks as it forms part of
the initial resistance movement, it said. The PRC called on rivaling
movements Fatah and Hamas to reconcile, saying that without national
unity, "time is being lost which only serves Israeli interests. "
Hamas:
PA security detains 5 affiliates across the West Bank
2/14/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority Security
Services of detaining five of the movement's affiliates across the West
Bank, in a statement issued on Sunday. Those detained include lawyer
Murad Azzam from Nablus, Ahmad Saleh Al-Arouri of Birzeit University,
Ramallah, An-Najjah University student Anas Raddad from Sayda in
Tulkarem and Polytechnic University students Majed Kweistro and Nidal
Shawar from Hebron, according to the statement. [end]
De
facto government calls PJS elections ’illegal’
2/14/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - The de facto government called the recent Palestinian
Journalists Syndicate elections "illegal in shape and form," on Sunday.
"There is nothing in Gaza known as a journalists' union board
[administrative council], and nobody is authorized to operate under
this name according to law. Thus, we wait to see what the journalists
blocs in Gaza decide," a statement issued by the Gaza government read.
"We call upon the International Federation of Journalists and the Arab
Federation of Journalists to visit the occupied Palestinian territories
and check this 'farce' called an election. "Elections were held last
Saturday to determine the new members of a 63-person administrative
council within the PJS. The IFJ had called on the PJS to postpone
general elections in an effort to "establish an acceptable mechanism
which guarantees transparent and comprehensive preparation. . . "
Nuzha
Nusseibeh named Knight of Jerusalem
2/14/2010
- Jerusalem - Ma'an - Nuzha Nusseibeh was named the Knight of Jerusalem
during a ceremony celebrating her lifetime achievements in education,
women and prisoners' rights, at the Dar At-Tifl school and orphanage in
Jerusalem on Saturday evening, organized by the Jawwal Theatre Group.
Nusseibeh was awarded the title for her pioneering role in establishing
a number of Palestinian institutions dedicated to providing education
to both young girls and orphans, most prominent of all being the Young
Women's Islamic Association which hosts one of the most successful
secondary schools for girls in Jerusalem. Under Nusseibeh's leadership,
theYWIArecently opened a new school and community center on the Mount
of Olives following a lengthy battle with the Israeli Jerusalem
Municipality.
2
Palestinian workers killed in Israeli factory accident
2/14/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - Two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli
factory in the Negev, southern Israel, when a bulldozer tyre exploded
on Sunday. Sources said Israeli police and ambulances were called to
the scene, but paramedics pronounced the two dead at the site. Three
months ago, a truck driver was killed in the same factory when his
truck overturned. Several fatal accidents have occurred in Israeli
factories and construction sites. A bulldozer driver, 20, was killed
and a man, 40, fell to his death on a construction site. A Palestinian
worker, 60, died after an iron bar fell on his head. [end]
Fire
destroys poultry farm near Nablus
2/14/2010
- Ramallah - Ma'an - Palestinian civil defense crews in the West Bank
city of Nablus fought a fire that erupted inside a poultry farm in
Tamoun, owned by a resident identified only by his initials, FA. Soon
after arriving on the scene, a civil defense statement said, crews
evacuate six large gas canisters, preventing the fire from reaching
them. The firecaused material loss including the deaths of 4,000 birds,
in addition to contents of the farm. The statement civil defense
department warned owners of farms against leaving heaters inside
enclosed areas, and thatappropriate measures be taken while using them
on farms and other areas at risk of catching fire. [end]
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Counterterrorism Bureau: Israelis could be target for revenge attacks over Mughniyeh, Iran scientist killings.
Ex-IDF chief: Israel can't handle nuclear Iran alone
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Dan Halutz says Israel should not take it upon itself to be the flag-bearer of the West against Tehran.
Egypt official: Israel assassination policy inflaming entire Mideast
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - PA source to London Times: Other countries won't agree to turn into Israel-Palestinian killing field.
Gaza sources: Sole power plant to halt over Israel fuel blockade
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Ma'an report: Strip's officials appeal international groups, Arab nations to end ongoing electricity deficit.
IDF thwarts knife attack on soldier in Hebron
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Palestinians: IDF kills two militants near Gaza; IDF soldiers on alert for Hamas kidnap attempts.
Hamas: Next war with Israel will be regional conflict
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Political leader Meshal accuses Israel of making threats against Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
Is Israeli society strong enough to face the future?
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - At the base of Netanyahu's worldview is profound anxiety over Israel's fortitude in the face of external threats.
Hundreds attend funeral of IDF officer killed in West Bank Attack
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Ihad Khatib, stabbed to death by a member of PA security, laid to rest in Druze community of Maghar.
Shin Bet: We foiled Hamas attempt to abduct and kill Israeli soldier
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Israel arrested two Hamas men in Dec. who allegedly tried to murder soldier, perform terror attacks.
IDF says jihadi terrorist killed in Gaza air strike
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Air force targets terror squad allegedly planning attack near Karni humanitarian aid crossing.
Work starts to reroute West Bank security fence at Bil'in
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Newly routed barrier will hand 700,000 square meters of agricultural land back to Bil'in village.
Palestinian policeman who killed soldier 'had personal problems'
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Israel general suggests suicidal motive for Wednesday's stabbing in West Bank.
IDF twice raids Ramallah office of pro-Palestinian group
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Army confiscates computers, T-shirts and bracelets from International Solidarity Movement.
West Bank attack victim Ihab Khatib 'had a heart of gold'
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Family describes victim's enthusiasm for service in the IDF, his desire to contribute.
2/7/2010 - Palestine Red Crescent Society - Al-Bireh: Israeli Occupation Forces pursued their attacks against PRCS medical teams in 2009. A total of 455 violations were recorded, including direct shooting incidents, verbal and physical abuse as well as impeding the Society’s access to the sick and wounded, in crying breach of IHL rules applicable in times of military occupation. 15 shooting incidents and attacks against PRCS ambulances and their teams were recorded in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, a PRCS volunteer in the Gaza Strip died in the course of duty, while 10 other EMTs were injured and 22 ambulances sustained damage. Moreover, PRCS recorded 440 incidents where its ambulances were delayed or denied access, including 289 such incidents on checkpoints leading to Jerusalem and 132 incidents in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli war which lasted for 22 days.
VIDEO - Palestinian Families Appeal to UN Over Israeli Construction of 'Museum of Tolerance' on Jerusalem’s Historic Mamilla Cemetery
2/10/2010 - Democracy Now! - Palestinian families have filed a petition with the United Nations over the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s plans to build a “Museum of Tolerance” over the historic Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem. Opponents of the project have long questioned how a monument to tolerance can be built on the remains of the graves of generations of Palestinian Muslims. We speak to Columbia University professor and author Rashid Khalidi, a petitioner whose ancestors were buried at the Mamilla Cemetery; and Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing the families in their petition. [includes rush transcript]. [end]Related: Mamilla Campaign
Protesters in NY: ’Diamond forever, Apartheid has to End’ on Valentine’s Day
2/14/2010 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - NEW YORK, February 14, 2010 (WAFA)– Fifty human rights activists performed Saturday for Valentine's Day shoppers compelling them to boycott the Israeli diamond and settlement mogul Lev Leviev outside his store on Madison Avenue, Adalah-NY reported. The New York protest took place against the backdrop of an escalating arrest and harassment campaign by the Israeli military against Palestinian human rights organizations and protest and boycott activists from the West Bank villages where Leviev has built settlements. Under the theme “A Diamond is Forever, but Apartheid Has to End,” protesters entertained shoppers by singing parodies of 'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend' and The Beatles' 'Can't Buy Me Love' with lyrics such as:Don't buy me Lev, Lev / Don't buy me Lev / Don't buy a diamond ring from Lev, and now I'll tell you why / Settlements on stolen land, he's a really nasty guy / Lev's a crook so.
Military Activities Affecting Palestinians: Clashes in Shu’fat Refugee Camp
2/13/2010 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - JERUSALEM, February 13, 2010 (WAFA)- Israeli forces, including the Border police, municipal workers and an undercover police unit, carried out a search and arrest operation in Shu’fat refugee camp (East Jerusalem) during the early morning hours of February 8, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its weekly report (February 3-9). During the operation, intense clashes erupted between the Israeli police and Palestinian youth, which lasted for two days. According to the Israeli media, the operation aimed at arresting tax evaders. During the confrontations, Israeli forces fired live ammunition, rubber? coated metal bullets and sound bombs and Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli forces. As a result, at least 11 Palestinians were injured, including six Palestinian journalists covering the event, four of whom were physically assaulted by the Israeli police and two who were hit by stones.
Lebanese troops open fire on Israeli warplanes
2/14/2010 - Maimi Herald - AP, BEIRUT -- Lebanese troops opened fire Sunday on four Israeli warplanes that flew into Lebanese airspace, the army said. Israeli warplanes frequently fly over Lebanese territory in what Israel says are reconnaissance missions. The overflights have been a constant source of friction between the two countries. Sunday's incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following some of the sharpest exchanges in years between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Last week, Syria's foreign minister accused Israel of "spreading an atmosphere of war" in the region after Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that the stalled peace process with Syria could result in an all-out regional war. The Lebanese army said in a statement that its troops used anti-aircraft fire Sunday to force the Israeli warplanes out of Lebanese airspace. The army said the planes were in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon. A spokesman for the Israeli military declined to comment.
Ayalon touts population swap in peace deal
2/14/2010 - Ha'aretz - Ayalon denied that this was an attempt to rid Israel of the country's Arabs - Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Saturday spoke out on the peace process, saying that a deal between Israel and the Palestinians could include a swap comprising both land and populations, according to an interview published in the London-based Arabic daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat. Ayalon suggested that Israel would trade the concentration of Israeli Arab towns and villages in the north known as "the triangle" in exchange for Israeli settlement blocs in the West Bank. He added, however, that the swap would not include cities such as Nazareth. Ayalon said such an exchange would maintain territorial integrity and demographics in both Israel and a Palestinian state. " I am talking about land that has territorial contiguity," said Ayalon. "We don't want to get into surgical operations at this stage, but what is important. . . . "
Think tank: Israel faces global delegitimization campaign
2/14/2010 - Ha'aretz - Israel is facing a global campaign of delegitimization, according to a report by the Reut Institute, made available to the cabinet on Thursday. The Tel Aviv-based security and socioeconomic think tank called on ministers to treat the matter as a strategic threat. The report cites anti-Israel demonstrations on campuses, protests when Israeli athletes compete abroad, moves in Europe to boycott Israeli products, and threats of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders visiting London. Reut says the campaign is the work of a worldwide network of private individuals and organizations. They have no hierarchy or overall commander, but work together based on a joint ideology - portraying Israel as a pariah state and denying its right to exist. Reut lists the network's major hubs - London, Brussels, Madrid, Toronto, San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley.
Abbas moves to draw line under sex scandal
2/15/2010 - The Independent - Chief of staff suspended over video alleged to show encounter with job applicant - Ben Lynfield in Jerusalem - The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas has suspended his chief of staff over an alleged sex scandal that has further eroded his public standing. Three leading Abbas loyalists in Fatah have been appointed to a commission which will investigate the behaviour of the chief of staff, Rafiq al-Husseini. Given that past inquiries by the Palestinian Authority (PA) into corruption and political fiascos – including the loss of Gaza to Hamas in 2007 – have not led to dismissals, the step was seen as a way of addressing public anger over the scandal, while not yet firing Mr Husseini, a long-time Abbas associate. Israeli television's Channel Ten last week aired a video that showed Mr Husseini undressing and then lying in bed while calling out to a woman off-camera to join him.
Clinton tackles Mideast peace, Muslim ties in Gulf
2/14/2010 - Reuters - DOHA (Reuters) - U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Sunday for more pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear program on a Gulf visit aimed at promoting Arab-Israeli peace and improving U. S. ties with the Islamic world. Speaking at a conference on U. S. -Muslim relations, Clinton solicited regional support to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and she sought to blunt anger at U. S. airline screening policies that many Muslims see as discriminatory. Making her first stop on a three-day visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Clinton spend much of her time explaining why the United States believes further U. N. sanctions may be the only way to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The West, and many Arab states, believe Iran is using its civil nuclear program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has said that the program is simply to generate power so it can export more of its valuable oil and gas.
Ahmadinejad: Iran doesn’t need nukes, they haven’t helped Israel
2/14/2010 - YNetNews - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country doe not near [sic] nuclear weapons and is capable of defending itself without them. In an interview to Russian newspaper VIP, Ahmadinejad said there is no longer any use for nuclear weapons. "Did nuclear weapons stop the collapse of the USSR? Did nuclear weapons help the United States in Iraq or Afghanistan? "Regarding Israel, the president said that even with nuclear weapons, the Jewish state was unable to win the Second Lebanon War or succeed in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. (Dudi Cohen). [end]
Ex-IDF chief: Israel can’t handle nuclear Iran alone
2/14/2010 - Ha'aretz - Reuters, Haaretz Service - Israel may lack the military means for successful preemptive strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz told Channel 2 news on Saturday. While endorsing international efforts to pressure Tehran into curbing sensitive nuclear technologies, Israel has hinted it could resort to force. But some analysts say Israeli jets would be stymied by the distance to Iran and by its defenses. " We are taking upon ourselves a task that is bigger than us" Halutz, who stepped down in 2007, said when asked about Israeli leaders' vows to "take care" of the perceived threat. " I think that the State of Israel should not take it upon itself to be the flag-bearer of the entire Western world in the face of the Iranian threat," Halutz, a former air force commander, told Channel Two. " I'm not some passer-by. "
PFLP
Leader Visits Cairo, Holds Talks with Egyptian Leaders
Uruknet
February 14, 2010 - Visiting Cairo, member of the Political Bureau of
the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Jamil
Majdalawi, held a series of meetings with Egyptian leaders to ease the
tension between Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, and to find a way to prepare
the atmosphere for signing a Palestinian unit deal supervised by
Egypt....
Child
Wounded By Israeli Fire In Central Gaza
Uruknet
February 14, 2010 - Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip
reported on Sunday evening that a Palestinian child suffered moderate
wounds after the Israeli army bombarded a number of homes in Juhr Al
Deek area, in central Gaza. Medical sources identified the child,
Yousef Al Atrash, 14. He was at home when the army opened fire at the
area......
Old
City stores in Jerusalem threatened with demolition
Uruknet
February 14, 2010 – Several Palestinian shops inside Jerusalem's Old
City in Damascus Gate face the threat of demolition after the Israeli
Jerusalem Municipality inspectors handed down notices to owners and
tenants on Wednesday. The notices were given to Muhammad Abu Ad-Dab'at,
owner of several shopes, and to tenants Mu’tasim Abu Rmeila, Samir
Salayma, and Najati Ja’bari. All were given...
Abu
Hein: 100,000 children in Gaza traumatized by the Israeli war
Uruknet
February 14, 2010 - GAZA, (PIC)-- Director of the mental health program
in the Gaza Strip Fadel Abu Hein said Saturday that more than 100,000
Palestinian children were traumatized as a result of the Israeli war on
Gaza, pointing out that the magnitude of this problem is bigger than
the capacity of health institutions...
Imprisoned
Iranian protesters share a bond forged in hell
Uruknet
February 14, 2010 - ...It began in a police station courtyard. Their
legs lashed together with electrical cables, the demonstrators -- part
of the protest movement that sprang up after June's disputed
presidential election -- were lined up while a judge read out the
charges: acting against national security, arson, damaging public
property, clashing with law enforcement and colluding with...
De
facto gov't: 4 fishermen detained by Israeli navy off Gaza coast
Uruknet
February 14, 2010 - Israeli naval forces detained four Gazan fishermen
off the Sudaniyya coast of northern Gaza, according to Nixar Ayyash,
head f the Union of Fishermen in Gaza. Sources within the de facto
government identified those detained as Awad Ramadan Sultan, Fadl Jamal
Sultan, Sharif Muhammad Sultan, and Samih Rajab Sultan...
PFLP
condemns Fayyad's betrayal of Palestinian interests
Uruknet
February 13, 2010 - The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
said on February 11, 2010 that PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad showed
"shameful disregard for the interests of the Palestinian people,"
harshly denouncing Fayyad's condemnation of the killing of an Israeli
occupation soldier at an occupation checkpoint in the West Bank of
Palestine by a Palestinian resistance fighter....
Love
& Destruction...
Uruknet
February 14, 2010 - ...Maybe you can afford to pontificate, debate,
argue, stress, pinpoint, analyse, theorize, expose, summarize,
conclude.. I, on the other hand, have only one reality staring me in
the face. Only ONE and not any other.... And whichever way I try to
look at it, it does not go away, it does not run away, it does...
Gaza
Power Plant To Cease Functioning Due to Israel’s Siege
Uruknet
February 14, 2010 - The Energy Authority in the Gaza Strip reported
Saturday that Gaza’s sole power plant will case functioning in a matter
of hours due to the ongoing Israeli blockade, preventing basic supplies
including fuel needed to run the generators, from entering Gaza. The
Energy Authority issued a statement regarding the issue and said that
the amount of...
Terror
'death lists' target Americans
Uruknet
February 13, 2010 - Raising troubling comparisons to tactics employed
by Josef Stalin and right-wing Latin American dictatorships, the U.S.
government has created a "hit list" of Americans abroad marked for
murder. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told a House
Intelligence Committee hearing on Feb. 3 the U.S. may, with executive
approval, target and kill American terrorist suspects, Inter...
PACBI:
All Israeli academic institutions complicit in apartheid
Uruknet
February 13, 2010 - In response to the recent decision by the Israeli
government to upgrade the status of the so-called Ariel University
Center of Samaria (AUCS) to a full university, the Palestinian Campaign
for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) reiterates its
call for a boycott of AUCS and all other Israeli academic institutions
due to their...
More
Pain for Devastated Haiti: Under the Pretense of Disaster Relief, U.S.
Running a Military Occupation
Uruknet
February 13, 2010 - Official denials aside, the United States has
embarked on a new military occupation of Haiti thinly cloaked as
disaster relief. While both the Pentagon and the United Nations claimed
more troops were needed to provide "security and stability" to bring in
aid, according to nearly all independent observers in the field,
violence was never an issue....
Gaza Strip, 14 February, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Gaza children have already been suffering a lot under Israel's cruel siege. Maybe they had some hope that someday everything would become better, but then the war on Gaza destroyed this hope, replaced by fear, and now they are trying to return to normal life, yet still under increasingly tightening siege. The first...
Gazan photographer wins World Press Photo award
Gaza Strip, February 14, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Mohammed Jadallah, 25, Reuters photographer in the Gaza Strip, won one of this year's awards in the World Press Photo contest. Judges awarded prizes to 63 photographers from 23 countries in one of journalism's most prestigious photo contests. The jury spent two weeks reviewing a record 101,960 photographs by 5,847 photographers from 128 different...
Gazan fishermen fight to protect a way of life
Gaza, February 14, 2010 (Pal Telegraph; by Pam Bailey) - Once upon a time, this little strip of land (just 139 square miles) was a potentially booming resort and fishing capital, with 25 miles of beautiful coastline and beaches and a Mediterranean Sea Port teeming with sardines and shrimp. This is the Gaza Strip...But it's not a fairy tale and...
Israeli navy forces kidnap 4 Palestinian fishermen
Gaza, February 14, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli naval forces kidnapped on Sunday morning four Palestinian fishermen off the coast of northern Gaza while they were fishing, and then abducted them to an unknown destination. Nizar Ayash, a Palestinian fishermen unionist, said the four arrested fishermen are from the Al-Sultan family: Awad Ghalib, 22; Fadel Jamal, 19; Sheriff Mohamed, 29;...
Israel kidnaps 5 Palestinians in West Bank
West Bank, February 14, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli forces kidnapped five Palestinians in the West Bank early Sunday morning. Israeli occupation forces detained Emad Hadowish and Aziz Al-Hour from Sorif and Bair Awa villages, close to Hebron in the West Bank. The houses of the two Palestinians were searched before they were taken away. Palestinian sources reported that another...
The National 14 Feb 2010 - Hillary Clinton arrives in Qatar, where she is holding talks with top government leaders and speaking at an international conference.
Like father like son, the same dilemma
The National 14 Feb 2010 - As the drums of war between Israel and Hizbollah beat louder, Saad Hariri faces his father's old problem: how to reconcile a vision of economic development with an agenda of national resistance.
The Media Line 10 Feb 2010 - Archaeologists digging under a busy Jerusalem crossroads have unearthed a section of a stone street from Byzantine times, thus confirming the city's depiction in a 6th century mosaic map. Digging up a busy city crossroad isn't...
Lebanon Marks Fifth Anniversary of Hariri Assassination
The Media Line 10 Feb 2010 - Tensions in Lebanon are running high as the country prepares to remember its former Prime Minister. The 14th of February will mark five years since the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In 2005...
AlJazeera 13 Feb 2010 - Three men plead not guilty to charges of killing Coptic Christians in southern Egypt.
Lebanon rally marks Hariri killing
AlJazeera 14 Feb 2010 - Political leaders back reconciliation with Syria as thousands remember former PM.
Abbas suspends chief of staff
AlJazeera 14 Feb 2010 - Palestinian officials investigate corruption claims as aide says he was blackmailed.
Clinton: Iran pursuing nuclear arms
AlJazeera 14 Feb 2010 - US secretary of state calls on Tehran to reconsider "dangerous" nuclear policies.
Alternative Information Center
Right to Return to the Middle EastAlternative Information Center 14 Feb 2010 - Friday, 12 February 2010, Many years ago, my friend Rachel showed me a photograph of a transit camp in the center of Israel and a picture of a refugee camp in Jordan, and asked me to...
Jerusalem Diaries Episode 34: Once Upon a Time... and Again in Oush Grab
Alternative Information Center 14 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Since the first days of February, Israeli soldiers and bulldozers have occupied the area of Oush Grab, Beit Sahour Municipality, in the Bethlehem district. The area, which was a former Israeli military...
2.5 Years after Israeli Supreme Court Order: Path of the Wall in Bil'in to Be Moved
Alternative Information Center 14 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Five years into anti-Wall struggle in Bil'in, Infrastructure work began yesterday to reroute the path of the barrier on the village's lands in accordance to an Israeli Supreme Court decision. Two and...
PNN 13 Feb 2010 - Palestinian protesters have added a colorful twist to demonstrations against Israel's separation barrier, painting themselves blue and posing as characters from the hit film Avatar. The demonstrators also donned long hair and loincloths Friday for the weekly protest against the barrier near the village of Bilin. The demonstrators compared their struggle with the Na'vi race portrayed in Avatar, who find themselves having...
British academics urge Elton John to cancel Israel concert
PNN 13 Feb 2010 - A group of British academics have called on singer Elton John to cancel his scheduled performance in Israel this June. Political or not political, when you stand up on that stage in Tel Aviv, you line yourself up with a racist state, the British Committee for Universities of Palestine wrote in an open letter to John on Monday. Do you want to...
Jeruslalem Post 14 Feb 2010 - Vilna’i makes statement in response to question posed by Meretz chairman.
Network busted smuggling Palestinian workers into Israel
Jeruslalem Post 14 Feb 2010 - Civil Administration official and a senior female Interior Ministry employee among the suspected ring members.
Right-wing group: Money transfer to Gaza banks is illegal
Jeruslalem Post 14 Feb 2010 - Court upholds state position that funds were to pay PA civil servants and therefore anti-terrorism law does not apply.
Olmert: We can stop Iran without strike
Jeruslalem Post 14 Feb 2010 - Former PM says his successor is sincere about making peace.
Abbas suspends aide over sex scandal
Jeruslalem Post 14 Feb 2010 - Palestinian Authority whistleblower: That is not enough.
Cabinet backs bill to register NGOs funded by foreign states
Jeruslalem Post 14 Feb 2010 - No organization in Israel would be allowed to receive money from a foreign political entity unless it registers.
'Strike may have unplanned results'
Jeruslalem Post 14 Feb 2010 - Mullen: A nuclear Iran would be a big, big problem for all of us.
Korb takes leave; date of Olmert trial in doubt
Jeruslalem Post 14 Feb 2010 - District Attorney’s allegedly offensive remarks may result in punitive measures.
Analysis: A fading revolution
Jeruslalem Post 14 Feb 2010 - Is Lebanon starting to accept the Hariri assassination as an unsolved mystery?
IPS RAMALLAH, Feb 5 (IPS) - Gazans hoping for a modicum of justice following Israel’s indiscriminate military assault on the coastal territory during December 2008 and January 2009 - which left 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, dead - could be waiting in vain.
JORDAN: Palestinians Unfairly Stripped of Citizenship - Report
IPS WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (IPS) - The Jordanian government should halt the arbitrary revocation of nationality from its citizens of Palestinian origin, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Monday.
MIDEAST: U.S. Non-Profit Targeted Rights Group over Goldstone
IPS WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (IPS) - A campaign of attacks against the New Israel Fund (NIF), a U.S.-based progressive organisation that supports human rights groups in Israel, has gained attention in both the Israeli and U.S. media, raising questions about the role played by foreign non-profits and non-governmental organisations in influencing...
MIDEAST: Gaza Energy Crisis Averted - For Now
IPS RAMALLAH, Feb 9 (IPS) - Pressure exerted on the Palestinian Authority (PA) by international and regional officials has given Gazans a last minute reprieve, albeit temporary, from plunging into darkness and plummeting temperatures.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Receives Head of OHCHR-OPT and Head of OHCHR-GazaPCHR 13 Feb 2010 - Ref: 16/2010 This morning, 14 February 2010, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) received Eva Tomic, Head of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory (OHCHR-OPT), and Curt Goering, head of OHCHR-Gaza, in PCHR’s head offices in Gaza City.
PCHR Calls for Investigation of Shooting Incident at House of Journalist Mostafa Sabri in Qalqilya
PCHR 13 Feb 2010 - Field Update On Thursday, 11 February 2010, unknown gunmen fired at the house of journalist Mostafa Sabri in Qalqilya, but no injuries were reported.
Bomb Detonated by the Monument of Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa in Jabalya
PCHR 13 Feb 2010 - Field Update Yesterday morning, unknown persons detonated a bomb under a monument of Abu Ali Mustafa, the late Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip. The monument was partially destroyed.
International Solidarity Movement
CPT: ‘My son, my son’2/14/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Maureen Jack, CPT Hebron, 13 February - Yesterday a man died in Al Khalil/Hebron. Israeli soldiers shot him, and he died of his injuries. He was a Palestinian of about forty, with a large family. There are different versions of what happened. The Israeli military have reported that the man attempted to stab one or more soldiers with a knife and that the soldiers then shot him. Locals say that this is not true. One report CPTers have heard is that Palestinian kids were throwing stones and the soldiers started shooting; the man had not been involved but was shot while he was trying to escape from danger. We were not there and so do not know. There has been no large funeral of the kind often held when a Palestinian dies this way. The man was buried quietly late last night; a Palestinian friend told us that this was at the insistence of the Israeli authorities.
Despite Netanyahu pressure, Russia defends Iran missile deal
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - PM seeks Tehran sanctions; Moscow says no reason to delay sale of arms to Iran.
Amid push on Iran, U.S. seems keen for Israel to show restraint
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - U.S. military chief: I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences of a strike on Iran.
U.S. vows commitment to Israel, wary of war over Iran nukes
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - U.S. military chief in Israel; Netanyahu to push Russia for sanctions; Russia: Iran missile sale still in works.
Olmert: Abbas never responded to my peace offer
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Former PM tells Tel Aviv conference he was 'hours' from meeting Syria FM when Israel went to war in Gaza.
British journalist detained by Hamas in Gaza
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Freelance filmmaker Paul Martin taken into custody at trial of Palestinian militant charged with revealing secrets.
Clinton: U.S. can't force Israel, Palestinians into peace talks
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - On visit to Doha, U.S. Secretary of State acknowledges 'disappointment' over delay in renewing talks.
Lebanon troops fire at 4 Israeli warplanes flying overhead
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Lebanese army says Israel Air Force planes violated air space over southern and central Lebanon.
Spain gets rabbi with Marrano roots for first time since Inquisition
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham, a descendant of forcibly-converted Spanish Jews, appointed as Shavei Israel's new emissary to the Marranos of Spain.
A Jewish Journal of Ideas Is Born
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - The Jewish Review of Books to focus on Jewish literary and political affairs; the magazine is funded by an endowment established by the late Zalman Bernstein.
Israeli Druze minister: Syria should give water to Golan towns
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Town of Majdal Shams now receives 10 percent of its water from Syria, as part of a 25-year agreement.
Abbas suspends PA aide embroiled in sex tape scandal
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Rafik Husseini removed from post after being taped soliciting sex in exchange for political favor.
Colin Firth to play Jewish underground leader in 'The Promised Land'
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Michael Winterbottom set to direct film depicting Jewish resistance during the British Mandate.
Israel to erect Sinai barrier to prevent infiltrators, drugs
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Netanyahu: There is no clear state policy regarding the migration law and this is necessary.
Thousands rally in Beirut to remember slain premier Rafik Hariri
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Hariri was assassinated in a 2005 bombing; Syria has been accused of involvement, which it denies.
U.K. lawmaker 'fired over claims IDF harvested organs in Haiti'
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Baroness Jenny Tonge, a Liberal Democrat, has been fired before for controversial comments on Israel.
The Guardian 14 Feb 2010 - Demonstrators dress as Na'vi from Avatar for weekly demonstration against Israel's separation barrier, in Bilin
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - The Education Ministry has decided not to publish an academic paper recommending that high school students study both Jewish and Palestinian poems about Jerusalem in their literature classes, even though the journal to which it was submitted had previously accepted the paper. ...
Israel basks in longest winter heat wave in almost 40 years
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - The heat wave that has hit the entire country will reach its peak Monday, with temperatures up to 30 degrees Celsius expected in some areas. ...
A Palestinian arrest so ridiculous even the Israeli judges smiled
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - Something about 12-year-old Bassam caused two Israelis to smile. Two ...
Three Israeli hospitals refuse ambulance drop-offs due to overflow
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - The Health Ministry instructed Magen David Adom ambulance services not to bring patients to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon or Haemek Hospital in Afula until Tuesday afternoon. The ministry explained that the hospitals have requested a hiatus from drop-offs, but noted that this does not pertain to the general public. ...
Israel to resume building separation barrier south of Jerusalem
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - The Defense establishment has announced plans to resume construction of Israel's separation barrier south of Jerusalem - a move that has drawn criticism from environmental groups who claim the barrier will cause grave harm to ancient agricultural landscapes in the area. ...
Relief Web 14 Feb 2010 - Source: Australian Agency for International Development, CARE
YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - Soldiers manning checkpoint east of Nablus seize three explosive devices, knife
Mullen: Attack on Iran could have 'unintended consequences'
YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - During press briefing in Tel Aviv, US army chief hints strike on Iran possible if nuclear talks fail, but adds, 'We are not there yet'
Olmert: Peace with Syria possible, can change Middle East
YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - In rare public appearance, former prime minister criticizes Netanyahu in respect to stalemate with Palestinians, growing tensions with Turkey and lack of contacts with Syria. 'Peace is essential and urgent,' he says
British man detained in Gaza
YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - Abu Rish Brigades spokesman says journalist was detained at courthouse after he showed support for terror group member who was being tried on charges of providing information to Israel
Lebanon says fired on Israeli jets
YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - Lebanese army says it used anti-aircraft fire to force four warplanes out of airspace over Bekaa Valley
Iran to top Netanyahu's agenda in Moscow
YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - Ahead of talks with Medvedev, PM tells cabinet 'Israel believes that heavy pressure must be applied on Iran, above all very severe sanctions.' Russia's Security Council: No reason to halt sale of S-300 missiles to Tehran
Clinton: US, others working on new Iran measures
YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - Secretary of State tells US-Islamic World Forum in Qatar that Tehran has not lived up to its nuclear obligations, rebuffed efforts to engage in negotiations
Barak, Steinitz refuse to pay for fence
YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - Cabinet discussion of prime minister's plan to set up barrier along border at cost of NIS 1.35 billion postponed. Treasury, Defense Ministry refuse to fund project; Ynet learns Barak demanding 'thorough discussion'. Official reason for postponement said to be defense minister's birthday
State prosecutor to Barkat: Seal off Beit Yonatan
YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - Lador urges Jerusalem mayor to implement court order against Jewish building in east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood
Stop The Wall - Occupation forces attacked protestors in Ni’lin with tear gas during the Friday demonstration. Two people, a local camera man and an Israeli activist, were arrested. Despite the intensification of the arrest campaign against Ni’lin, residents have refused to end their demonstrations. [
Daily Star 14 Feb 2010 NATO rockets killed 12 Afghan civilians on Sunday, missing Taliban militants attacking NATO and Afghan troops as they press ahead with a major offensive that must win over the local population to succeed. "It's regrettable that in the course of our joint efforts, innocent lives were lost. We extend our heartfelt sympathies and will ensure we do all we can to avoid
Clinton seeks Saudi help to win China's backing on Iran sanctions
Daily Star 14 Feb 2010 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to the Gulf on Sunday to seek oil-rich Saudi Arabia's help in pressing China to join the US drive for sanctions against Iran, aides said. The US chief diplomat's three-day trip to Qatar and Saudi Arabia is also aimed at enlisting broader regional support, including Turkey's, in a drive to stop Iran's sensitive nuclear work, her aides told reporters
Hamas, Fatah join Gaza talks on reconciliation
Daily Star 14 Feb 2010 Palestinian groups including Hamas and Fatah held talks on Sunday in the Gaza Strip aimed at finding reconciliation between the factions, they said in a statement. The meeting, the first for two years according to Ayman Taha, a spokesman for Hamas in the Palestinian enclave, was designed to overcome obstacles to the signing of a reconciliation pact in Cairo late last year
Karroubi's wife blames Khamenei over son's 'abuse'
Daily Star 14 Feb 2010 The wife of one of Iran's opposition leaders accused the nation's supreme leader Sunday of allowing violence and abuses to crush opposition supporters, including the alleged beating of her son during last week's protests. Fatameh Karroubi claimed her son Ali was savagely attacked inside a mosque by hardline militiamen amid a massive security crackdown during events Thursday marking the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution
Egypt's press freer, but still fettered by state's dominance
Daily Star 14 Feb 2010 Not long ago an editorial like the one that appeared in the independent Al-Dustour newspaper this week might never have made it into print. In his weekly column, entitled "Fraud for the benefit of Egypt," chief editor Ibrahim Eissa accuses Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of systematically and meticulously rigging elections and referendums to perpetuate his rule
Palestinian Information Center
After threats from Tamimi, Abbas forms committee to probe his office scandalPIC 14 Feb 2010 - Mahmoud Abbas has bowed to the threats made by former intelligence officer Fahmi Al-Tamimi and decided to form a committee to probe the scandal of Al-Husseini.
Nofal subjected to intensified torture in Egypt
PIC 14 Feb 2010 - Solidarity committee with Palestinian captive Ayman Nofal who is detained in Egyptian dungeons has strongly condemned the Egyptian police for intensifying moral and physical torture against him.
Mullen discusses tightening siege on Gaza with Israeli officials
PIC 14 Feb 2010 - Admiral Mike Mullen, the current chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, is to discuss with Israeli military commanders means of blocking "arms smuggling" into the Gaza Strip.
Two American congressmen arrive in Gaza
PIC 14 Feb 2010 - Two American congressmen Brian Bird and Nick Bilono, both Democrats, arrived in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the crossings and border authority said in a statement.
Store owners in Bab Al-Amud in J’lem handed demolition orders
PIC 14 Feb 2010 - The IOA handed a number of store owners in the area of Bab Al-Amud, the largest entrance of the occupied city of Jerusalem, demolition orders at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
Abu Zuhri: Hamas insists on its remarks on the Egyptian document
PIC 14 Feb 2010 - Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri has renewed his Movement's insistence on matching the Egyptian document on Palestinian reconciliation with what was approved during the national dialog talks in Cairo.
Masri: Blair and Clinton should turn words to deeds
PIC 14 Feb 2010 - MP Mushir Al-Masri has called on Toni Blair and Hillary Clinton to turn their words of easing movement of the Palestinian people in the WB and improving life conditions in Gaza into tangible deeds.
ADU sends medicine to Gaza hospitals
PIC 14 Feb 2010 - The ADU has sent shipments of medicine worth $2.5m dollars to the besieged Gaza Strip to help Palestinian doctors cope up with the increasing numbers of sick Palestinian citizens due to the siege.
Erdogan: There will be no peace while Gaza under siege
PIC 14 Feb 2010 - Turkish premier Recep Erdogan slammed the western countries and the UN for using the policy of double standards, warning that there would be no peace in the region while the Gaza Strip is under siege.
Resistance fighters survive IOF shelling, 3 West Bankers detained
PIC 14 Feb 2010 - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired an artillery shell at a group of Palestinian resistance fighters east of Gaza city but its members survived unharmed.
LA Times 14 Feb 2010 - Former inmates describe the horrors they endured during five days in Kahrizak prison in Tehran after their arrests during postelection unrest. "What is this place?" the guard shouted.
New York Times 14 Feb 2010 - Vice President Joe Biden said that the United States expected to gain China’s support for imposing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Work Begins to Reroute Barrier
New York Times 13 Feb 2010 - More than two years after a Supreme Court ruling, Israel has started work to reroute its security barrier near Bilin, a Palestinian village in the West Bank.
U.S. Envoys Head Out on a Mission to Rally Iran’s Neighbors
New York Times 13 Feb 2010 - Tensions over Iran’s nuclear ambitions have forced visits by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other diplomats to Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Peace Initiative by Israeli Soccer Fans Fails
New York Times 12 Feb 2010 - The coach of Egypt's national team told an Egyptian newspaper this week, "I'd rather die of hunger than entertain the possibility of coaching Israel."
Atomic Agency Views Iran’s Stepped-Up Enrichment of Uranium as a Violation
New York Times 12 Feb 2010 - An International Atomic Energy Agency report is likely to give the United States more evidence that Iran is not meeting commitments on its nuclear program.
World Briefing | Middle East: Airstrike Kills Palestinian Militant
New York Times 11 Feb 2010 - A Palestinian militant was killed on Thursday in an Israeli airstrike, according to Israeli officials.
Mondoweiss - 14 Feb 2010 - While Valentine’s Day weekend is usually a time to buy jewelry or beauty products for your spouse, Palestine solidarity activists in New York used the occasion as an impetus to further the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel. Dozens of activists gathered outside billionaire...
Rads
Mondoweiss - 14 Feb 2010 - I was a little freaked out by the student uprisings this week at speeches by Israeli officials at Oxford and at University of California-Irvine. One protest targeted an Israeli deputy foreign minister. The other Israeli ambassador Michael Oren. In both cases there was suppression of free...
Someone explain this to me
Mondoweiss - 14 Feb 2010 - The two-state solution would create a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. The two chunks of land are 30 miles apart. I always heard the word "contiguous" Palestinian state. What is contiguous (in contact with) about Gaza and the West Bank? Would you accept...
Role model
Mondoweiss - 13 Feb 2010 - Dexter Filkins, New York Times , yesterday from Afghanistan: And then, almost invariably, they [US and NATO troops] have cleared out, never leaving behind enough soldiers or police officers to hold the place on their own. And so, almost always, the Taliban returned — and, after a...
‘LA Times’ gives Wiesenthal Center a platform to spin falsehoods about Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem
Mondoweiss - 13 Feb 2010 - Yesterday, and somewhat shockingly, the Los Angeles Times published an opinion piece by Rabbi Martin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) defending the desecration of the Mamilla Cemetery in Jerusalem so that the SWC can build its "Center for Human Dignity– Museum of Tolerance" there....
Right to Return to the Middle East
Alternative Information Center - 14 Feb 2010 - Friday, 12 February 2010, Many years ago, my friend Rachel showed me a photograph of a transit camp in the center of Israel and a picture of a refugee camp in Jordan, and asked me to distinguish between them. I couldn’t. The tents were the same...
Yes, We Objected to the War on Gaza
Alternative Information Center - 14 Feb 2010 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010, Despite the irresponsibility with which (Israeli reporter) Ben Caspit published the report of the radical right wing group Im Tirtzu, we wish to thank him for the exposure he provide to the opposition of citizens in Israel to “Operation Cast Lead.” Caspit...
Italian NGO Opposition to Statements Made by Italian PM Berlusconi in Israel
Alternative Information Center - 14 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Following the three-day visit last week (1-3 February) of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories, many voices of protest were raised against his declarations and unconditional support for Israeli government policy. On 9 February, Berlusconi's...
2.5 Years after Israeli Supreme Court Order: Path of the Wall in Bil'in to Be Moved
Alternative Information Center - 14 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Five years into anti-Wall struggle in Bil'in, Infrastructure work began yesterday to reroute the path of the barrier on the village's lands in accordance to an Israeli Supreme Court decision. Two and a half years after an Israeli Supreme Court decision deeming...
Jerusalem Diaries Episode 34: Once Upon a Time... and Again in Oush Grab
Alternative Information Center - 14 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Since the first days of February, Israeli soldiers and bulldozers have occupied the area of Oush Grab, Beit Sahour Municipality, in the Bethlehem district. The area, which was a former Israeli military base, was abandoned in 2006. In 2008 the Municipality of...
Articles
That Which Can Not be Spoken
William Blum, CounterPunch 2/12/2010
Why Do Terrorists Keeping Picking on the United States?
"The purpose of terrorism is to provoke an overreaction," writes Fareed Zakaria, a leading American foreign-policy pundit, editor of Newsweek magazine’s international edition, and Washington Post columnist, referring to the "underwear bomber", Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and his failed attempt to blow up a US airliner on Christmas day. "Its real aim is not to kill the hundreds of people directly targeted but to sow fear in the rest of the population. Terrorism is an unusual military tactic in that it depends on the response of the onlookers. If we are not terrorized, then the attack didn’t work. Alas, this one worked very well." (Newsweek, January 18, 2010.)
Is that not odd? That an individual would try to take the lives of hundreds of people, including his own, primarily to "provoke an overreaction", or to "sow fear"? Was there not any kind of deep-seated grievance or resentment with anything or anyone American being expressed? No perceived wrong he wished to make right? Nothing he sought to obtain revenge for? Why is the United States the most common target of terrorists? Such questions were not even hinted at in Zakaria’s article.
At a White House press briefing concerning the same failed terrorist attack, conducted by Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan, veteran reporter Helen Thomas raised a question:
Thomas: "What is really lacking always for us is you don’t give the motivation of why they want to do us harm. ... What is the motivation?...." more.. e-mail
Arab 'terrorism' vs Jewish Eternal 'victimization'
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD, Desert Peace 2/13/2010
We have been extremely busy here.The presence of soldiers in Beit Sahour gave us ample time to talk to them on Thursday and on Friday; we spent the morning planting trees in threatened private lands. We were proud of young and old, internationals and Palestinians, working together, some 150 people in all.Even a bus of elderly from the elderly home in Beit Sahour showed up to help.My 77 year old mother was among them.It was such a meaningful thing.The day before was meaningful in a different way.The hours we spent talking to soldiers on Thursday was important too we believe. Foot soldiers in an army of occupation know so little other than what their government tells them.They tell them lies about Arabs “terrorism”, Jewish eternal “victimization”,the need to be strong to “defend” a country created so that they could simply live alone away from the anti-Semites (who are essentially all the Christians and the Muslims).They tell them that it is an unexplainable phenomenon this hatred of the Jews and it has nothing to do with what Jews do or did. It is almost a genetic thing.
A friend wrote to me that:
”My visit to Yad Vashem in 2006, during the war with Lebanon, was a painful lesson. The museum of the Shoah is being used to indoctrinate young Israelis, esp. the military, that the whole world is and always has been against the Jews, and that the only solution is for Israelis to be firm and resolute against the whole world, even if it means being inhuman to the Palestinians.The “righteous among the nations” are cited as flukes, as anomalies, with no explanations offered for their sacrifices because for the Israelis though these people did something good, their motivations MUST remain in the shadows (e.g. Christian faith; social justice; their own experiences of oppression, etc.) so that the survival of the State of Israel can remain the one and only center stage concern.... Related: Mamilla Campaign and VIDEO - Palestinian Families Appeal to UN Over Israeli Construction of “Museum of Tolerance” on Jerusalem’s Historic Mamilla Cemetery -- See also: Mamilla Campaign and VIDEO - Palestinian Families Appeal to UN Over Israeli Construction of “Museum of Tolerance” on Jerusalem’s Historic Mamilla Cemetery more.. e-mail
The Truth About The Wiesenthal Center ~~ Lies, Lies, Lies
Khalid Amayreh, Desert Peace 2/13/2010
The Wiesenthal Center is notorious for its pro-Israeli propaganda. It publishes flagrant lies, exaggerations and half-truths which are often presented as “academic and objective facts.” However, in truth, many of these findings are actually fabrications. This recently came to light with the publication, in June 2009, of Hunting Evil, by British Author Guy Walters, in which he characterized Simon Wiesenthal as “a liar-and a bad one at that.”
Moreover, the Center is notorious for trying to hide facts that would expose Israel’s ugly face. For example, the center is now objecting to the appearance of Richard Goldstone, the South African Jewish judge who investigated Israel’s crimes in Gaza last year, at New York University.
In a statement, the Los Angeles-based Center reportedly urged NYU President John Sexton, to deny Goldstone a platform to tell students what Israel really did in the Gaza Strip.
“Should Goldstone’s outrageous recommendations be adopted, international law will be used to render defenseless Israel against onslaught by non-state adversaries against its civilians.”
Well, the depravity and utter mendacity of the above statement should give us a clear idea about this evil body (the Wiesenthal Center) which claims to be dedicated to fighting racism and anti-Semitism while effectively promoting Israeli Nazism, even in its ugliest forms.
In the final analysis, what credibility does a “research center” that calls Israel “a defenseless state” have? A center as such has actually more to do with fornicating with language than with searching for the facts. more.. e-mail
Palestine Monitor: 13 Feb 2010 - Palestinian, Israeli and international activists joined demonstrations in villages up and down the West Bank yesterday. Creativity distinguished Bi'lin and Sheikh Jarrah protests, with activists playing blue creatures from James Cameron's last film, Avatar. Here's what happened. Photo by Brady Ng Bi'lin Activists in Bi'lin reenacted James Cameron's last film Avatar. Five Palestinian, Israeli and international activists were painted blue, with pointy ears and tails, resembling the Avatar characters. Like Palestinians, the Avatars fight imperialism, although the colonisers have different origins. Israeli army dispersed protesters with sound bombs and tear gas, resulting in injuries to four people. Many other activists suffered from tear gas inhalation. Dr Mustapha Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, condemned these tactics, stating; "attacks on demonstrators, will not discourage us from continuing the popular struggle against the apartheid system created and carried out by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory." Before coming to Bil'in,...
Life in the "Buffer Zone"
Palestine Monitor: 13 Feb 2010 - The Israelis call it the “buffer zone.” Gazan NGOs often call it the “hot zone.” But to the Palestinians who live near this wide swath of land alongside the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, it is fertile land where their children played and they made a decent living by raising wheat and olives. That is, until Israel declared it off limits. The so-called ‘buffer zone' is a military no-go area that extends along the entire northern and eastern Gazan border with Israel, as well as its southern border with Egypt (known as the Philadelphi Corridor).) The creation of a 50-meter-wide buffer zone was agreed to as part of the security arrangements included in an interim Palestinian-Israeli agreement signed in 1995. Following the start of the second Intifada in September 2000, the area of the buffer zone was increased to 150 meters wide. In May 2009, the Israeli military...
Palestine Chronicle: 13 Feb 2010 - By Stuart Littlewood – London 'O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us!' A few weeks ago, on the annual Robert Burns Night, these immortal lines from 1786 were being recited all over the world, but probably not in Palestine. The leadership there aren’t blessed with the gift of seeing themselves as the rest of the world sees them… a bit like the Israelis that way. The consequences for the Palestinians are tragic. Fatah especially would do well to learn the lines off by heart. The next two go 'It would from many a blunder free us, And foolish notion!' The poem addresses a louse, which seems appropriate enough. We’ve heard a great deal about Fatah spreading security chaos, almost provoking a civil war, then collaborating with the US to recruit sinister battalions of “security” thugs with orders to crush all opposition, silence dissent, destroy Hamas and the welfare structure it provides, and force Palestinians to bend to Israel’s will. This vile scenario is topped off with unjustified arrests, torture and lack of due process. It sounds like Fatah’s brave “security” forces have been trained in terror tactics by the Gestapo and are working for the enemy. Who is the enemy these days? Palestine’s external enemy we know about. But the ‘enemy within’ is always more dangerous. Since I first visited the Holy Land nearly 5 years ago I have tried to keep my promise to tell the story of those wonderful people...
The High Cost of Israeli Demolitions of Palestinian Homes
Palestine Chronicle: 13 Feb 2010 - By Heidi Schramm - Washington On February 4, Nir Barakat, the mayor of Jerusalem, announced that he would accept a 2007 ruling issued by an Israeli High Court ordering the Jerusalem municipality to evacuate and seal an illegally constructed Israeli settlement building in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Barakat then insisted that complying with this ruling would compel him to demolish 200 Palestinian homes that were built without Israeli permits in the same neighborhood. He argued that such steps were necessary in order to assure that the law was not being applied in a way that could be considered “discriminatory” against the settlers. But, as Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) pointed out, “In the past fifteen years, there have been more than a thousand Palestinian homes demolished in East Jerusalem versus absolutely no settler homes.” This imbalance has enormous human and political consequences, and seriously undermines the credibility of ostensible U.S. efforts to advance peace between Palestinians and Israelis. The negative human consequences of home demolitions are significant. According to ICAHD, over 24,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished since 1967. And according to the Applied Research Institute, in 2009 alone, the Jerusalem municipality issued over 900 new demolition orders to buildings under its jurisdiction. Israel’s government claims that many of these homes were or will be destroyed because they were “built without the proper permits.” But the necessary permits are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain. In fact, a 2008 report released by the...
Chutzpah, thy Name is Zionism
Palestine Chronicle: 13 Feb 2010 - By Maidhc Ó Cathail Chutzpah, a Yiddish word meaning 'shameless audacity,' has been famously defined as 'that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.' Considering Israel’s increasingly outrageous behaviour, perhaps it’s time for a new definition. The one that springs to mind is “that quality enshrined in a state, which having induced its ‘allies’ into a disastrous invasion of Iraq, then urges them to attack Iran.” At a recent dinner in honour of visiting Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took yet another rhetorical swipe at Tehran. “Humanity stands before one of its most difficult tests since World War II,” Netanyahu intoned. “The radical Islamic regime threats [sic] the well-being of the state of Israel, the region, and all of humanity.” Sounding more like an Israeli envoy than the head of a sovereign nation, Berlusconi responded, “My job is to make sure that world leaders do not commit the same error of the past, the error of indifference that brought about the greatest tragedy in history.” In Defamation, a highly revealing 2009 documentary on anti-Semitism by Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir, Professor Norman Finkelstein noted this strategy of invoking past Jewish suffering to justify future wars. “The irony is that the Nazi holocaust has now become the main ideological weapon for launching wars of aggression,” said Finkelstein, the author of The Holocaust Industry. “Every time you want to launch a...